Juliette returns to Bern from New York, homeless and jobless. She quickly finds shelter with her boyfriend, and soon the four of them are together: Max, the unemployed ex-junkie; Gérard, who was kicked out of his apartment by his wealthy father and is a potential drug supplier for Max; and Patricia, who has escaped from prison. Juliette is the only one of the group who works. With Juliette's money, they buy a car, immediately steal the money back, and drive to Italy. This escape from a fragile life, however, is the beginning of a downward spiral, and the friends are caught in a vicious cycle of drug use and acquisitive crime.